“There might be a few people here for that one,” said St. Anthony coach Tony Kreke.

The Bulldogs set the tone in the opening inning.

First, it was the defense. The Shells had two runners on base with one out when Kyle Campbell lifted a fly ball down the rightfield line. St. Anthony’s Henry Brent made the catch and then threw out Mason Crump, who was trying to advance to second base.

In the bottom of the frame, lead-off batter Beau Adams singled and then went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Aiden Lauritzen. Brock Fearday then lined a pitch just out of reach of Roxana’s second baseman and Adams raced home with the first run of the game.

Fearday stole second, went to third on a balk and scored when Brady Hatton bounced a single over the head of the third baseman to stake SAHS to an early 2-0 lead.

St. Anthony added single tallies in the third, fourth and fifth – and did so in a variety of ways.

In the third, Adams got his second hit, stole second and went to third on a ground out by Brock Fearday. Adams then scored on a wild pitch.

The Bulldogs scored in the fourth without getting a hit. Will Fearday was hit by a pitch, went to second on a ground ball by Brent and to third on a wild pitch. Then on a 2-1 pitch, he broke for home and Max Koenig laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to make it 3-0.

“Bunting is a real skill,” Kreke noted. “A lot of people overlook that in today’s game. Our kids embrace it. It’s all about scoring runs and getting the job done.”

With one out in the fifth, Brock Fearday lined a base hit to right. Courtesy runner Ryan Schmidt stole second and then came in to score when Hatton delivered his second RBI single of the game.

“I credit our guys because we practice these situations,” Kreke explained. “Situational hitting, taking the extra case or bunting. They are all important parts of the game. But you have to execute and our guys did that today.”

While all that was going on, Lauritzen and Brock Fearday were keeping the Shells in check at the plate.

Lauritzen started and went the first 2.2 innings. After Dalton Carriker singled leading off the second, he caught off first after Max Autrey struck out. In the ensuing rundown, Lauritzen tagged Carriker out, but in the process, got hit in the face and fell to the ground. After the game, the sophomore righthander said he actually “passed out” for just a brief moment.

As a result, Lauritzen left the game and Brock Fearday took over. The senior pitched into the seventh inning, but in order to be available to pitch again Saturday, Joe Tegeler came on to record the final out.

“You don’t expect a situation like that to happen to Aiden,” Kreke said. “But because we kept Brock to 75 pitches in our last game, he was available to throw today. Sometimes when you plan ahead, things work out to your advantage. Having that ace in the hole was a good situation for us.

“Brock is a gamer,” Kreke added. “He wants the ball anytime he’s available. For him to be that efficient today, and stay at just 60 pitches, he’s now available again for Saturday. And Aiden will be available, too. That’s a nice position for us to be in.”

Lauritzen and Fearday combined to allow just five hits. They walked three and struck out seven.

The Bulldogs improved to 23-5. They will be facing T-Town for the second time this season. In the first meeting in April, Hatton belted two home runs and Brock Fearday added another long ball, as St. Anthony posted an 8-2 win over the Shoes.